


Roman Holiday

by Auggusst



Series: Heart and Mind [24]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Baby Peter Parker, Beaches, Day At The Beach, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Fluff, Italy, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Minor Angst, Mpreg, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Slice of Life, Superfamily, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27535672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auggusst/pseuds/Auggusst
Summary: Tony, Steve and Peter enjoy another day of vacation staying at Tony's old family summer home in Italy.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Heart and Mind [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670740
Comments: 38
Kudos: 219





	Roman Holiday

**Author's Note:**

> I! Miss! Summertime!  
> I've been wanting to do this one for a while and here we are. I'll get back to the plot-advancing fics in a while, but for now I just kinda wanna revel in the superfamily aspect lol.

“Alrighty, Pete, wave to the camera!” Steve said, a hand bracing his son’s back, the other pointing a little distance up the beach to where Tony was standing.

The brunet was smiling, holding up an instant camera, ready to snap a photo.

He could just as easily take pictures from his StarkPhone, and had on occasion, but there was something charming in having physical copies of his pictures. Steve thought so too, was actually the one who’d bought the camera. After all they’d been through, being able to hold reminders of their memories, of the good times, seemed more important than ever.

They had already filled one scrapbook with photos since Peter was born, and were about halfway through a second. Hell, they might fill it by the end of this trip, with how many pictures they’d taken. But that tended to happen when your child was the cutest in the world (they were definitely biased.)

Their vacation was well deserved. It’d been a tough financial quarter for SI, and a string of missions that required them to step in alongside the rest of the team was cause for plenty of stress and strife. There’d been a stint in the hospital 2 months ago too, which neither wanted to repeat. It was nice to get away for a little bit, to take some time to breathe.

Tony hadn’t stayed at his father’s Italian villa in years, not since he’d been in his twenties, but it seemed like the perfect place to get away with his family. It needed a bit of cleaning up and dusting off before he got there, which cost a pretty penny, but it was well worth it. It had a private stretch of beach, a nearby coastal town with an amazing market, a big citrus garden, and a pretty good pool too, not to mention a great view.

It was Peter’s first time in Italy too. They were more than a little protective of him, after all that had happened, so normally one parent or the other stayed home with him in the event of necessary travel, but he was two now, and eager to learn and see new things, and so they thought they’d give him a taste of the bigger world outside of New York and California.

Two weeks away from the media, away from responsibilities and worries would do them all good.

Tony looked at his husband and child fondly, lining up the camera properly to get a good shot. His sunglasses were resting on his head, and he had to make sure they didn’t slip, but managed just fine, kept his attention on the task at hand.

“Look here, baby!” he said, getting the toddler’s attention.

Peter looked adorable, standing on the shore, knee-deep in water. He had a little bucket hat on, tied with a strap around his chin to keep the sun out of his eyes, and his swim shirt and shorts were a light blue.

He was in a really good mood today, which was a relief, because he’d been extremely cranky the day before, and they ended up staying inside with him and watching reruns of his favorite show over and over again to keep him placated.

Steve was a vision too, of course, in his swim trunks, skin a little tanner than usual thanks to their time in the sun here, water droplets glistening on his muscles. He was, as always, the picture of a perfect Alpha. His hair was wet, bangs pushed back, and his smile was dazzling as he kneeled down in the water, a hand on Peter’s back to keep him stable against the low waves.

“Say cheese!” Steve prompted.

Peter laughed a little, waved one hand furiously at the camera, the other tightened in a little fist. ”Cheese!” he said.

Tony snapped the picture, waved the Polaroid around to help it develop, and walked a few feet to where they had their things, under the shade of an umbrella.

“I think this’ll be a good one!” he called to Steve, who had scooped their toddler up in his arms and was dangling his feet in the water now.

Peter let out a squeal as the waves brushed over his toes and Steve lifted him higher, like a swing. “They’re always good!” Steve called back, and pressed a kiss to his son’s cheek.

He was in a supremely good mood today. Well, who wouldn’t be? The weather was nice, there wasn’t any work to be done, and he could spend plenty of time with his incredible mate and child. Steve never thought he’d be so lucky. He still thought he didn’t deserve it sometimes, after what he’d done, but Tony had forgiven him for it, had let him back in. He never took that second chance for granted.

Steve watched Tony with fond eyes as the brunet tucked away the camera and added the new photo to the small box he’d brought along to keep each picture out of the wind. They’d eaten lunch out here too, some sandwiches and juice and watermelon, because that was Peter’s favorite fruit at the moment.

Now they were swimming a little more before heading home for the day. Peter would need a nap soon, but for now he was enjoying himself. He seemed to really like the beach, had spent a good hour playing in the sand earlier, building a little sand castle with Tony’s help. They’d put on their water shoes and went to the tide pools about a mile away too, and Peter had been absolutely fascinated by the crabs they found.

Tony put his sunglasses back on properly and headed into the water to join them. The water was a little cold at first touch, after being out of it for a while, but Tony ignored it, smiling as he approached the others. The water was up to his shins by the time he made it there, and he shuddered a little as a wave splashed him.

“Mommy swim?” Peter asked, catching sight of Tony approaching.

“Oh yeah, darling. Gonna swim around with you and Daddy. You wanna swim?” Tony asked, close enough now to adjust Peter’s little hat.

The kid looked so damn cute with his big brown eyes and rosy cheeks that suffering the sudden temperature difference was well worth it. Tony held out his arms, offering to hold him.

Peter nodded at the question enthusiastically, and reached out for him too. He rarely passed up the chance to be in Tony’s arms. “I swim,” he confirmed.

Steve got the message, with the way Peter leaned forward, and handed the kid to the other Alpha, brushed his hair back. “What do you say half an hour or so and then we head back to the house?” he asked, and bent down to run his hand through the water.

Tony shifted Peter to his side a little to carry him easier, and nodded. “Sounds good to me. Hopefully he’ll be tired out by then. God knows I could use a nap.”

Peter shook his head, linked his arms around Tony’s neck. “No nap,” he protested. “No more sleep!”

“No more sleep ever, huh?” Steve asked, raising a brow. “Then I guess there’s no bedtime stories anymore either.”

Suddenly Peter wasn’t so sure of his declaration. He pouted a little, made an insistent noise.

Steve tickled his chin a little to get him to laugh again, smiled at his reaction. “See? Maybe sleep isn’t so bad after all, huh?” he asked.

Peter hid his face against Tony’s neck to escape the tickling, scrunched his nose up and tried to hide his smile, and the brunet laughed a little. “You can say that again,” he sighed wistfully.

Tony and Steve walked a little further out in the water then, until it reached Tony’s midsection. Peter kept reaching down to touch the waves, eager for them to swim, so it just made it easier when they were a little deeper. The waves weren’t too big today, which was helpful. They were just big enough to carry you a little, but not to knock you over.

It felt really nice, being out here together. Tony cherished these moments of quiet, without a thousand eyes on him, people questioning him left and right and projects and paperwork and everything else piling up. He cherished moments without pain, without strife, and without suffering.

He never really thought he’d be a family man, but now he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. He’d gladly take the irritation of sleepless nights or the frustration of a screaming child over a wild, angry crowd or battalion of bad guys. He _certainly_ took it gladly instead of world-shattering events and threats that left him battered and bruised and feeling miserable.

That wasn’t to say there weren’t any threats at all these days, and once in a while a mission did still spring up even though he and Steve were technically retired, but most of the heavy lifting was left to the rest of the team.

Either way, he was glad to be on vacation, at least for a few more days.

The three of them had a great time splashing around in the water, even allowing Peter to swim himself a little back and forth about a foot between them. He was pretty good at it. Tony had been a natural too when he was little. He supposed it was in the blood.

They jumped around in the waves, and Steve had the honor of playing a shark, chasing the others around in the surf until Peter’s giggly shrieks started to give Tony a headache, and then Steve took him into his arms, let Tony swim around a little bit by himself to cool down.

Peter started to lose steam pretty quickly after a while, ended up leaning his head against Steve’s shoulder, letting out a yawn as he watched his mother swim around nearby.

“Someone’s tuckered out, hm?” Steve asked the little boy in his arms, swaying back and forth in the water.

He loved a sleepy Peter. He loved Peter at all times of the day of course, but when his son was sleepy, and he got quiet and clingy, the urge to keep him close, to protect him only grew. The kid was so damn sweet. He had a temper on him of course, as anyone did, but for the most part, was always well behaved, and just adorable. He really was the best of both of them, Steve thought.

Peter shook his head at the accusation, muttered a “Nuh uh!” but he was clearly just trying to save face.

Tony brushed his wet hair out of his eyes, smiled at the two of them, standing up in the water. “I think it’s an ‘uh huh.’ Let’s head home,” he said.

It didn’t take long for them to towel off and gather their things. It was about a ten minute walk to the back of the house, with Steve carrying their toddler and Tony carrying their beach bags and umbrella, and by the time they got to the garden, Peter’s eyes had closed, and his mouth was agape, breathing calmly.

He was out for the count.

“Should we take him inside?” Steve asked as Tony closed the garden gate behind them, gently rubbing Peter’s back.

Peter was pretty malleable when asleep. They could drop the kid just about anywhere and he wouldn’t wake up. Once he was out, he was out for at least half an hour. Steve definitely envied him in that aspect.

Tony looked around the familiar garden at the question. The citrus trees had always been big, spread far and wide, even when he was a kid, but they’d definitely grown a little over the years. There was plenty of shade here and greenery, and it was quiet, and admittedly gorgeous.

He remembered sitting out here with his mother in summers when he was little, playing with his robot figurines, reading books. He remembered Jarvis making homemade popsicles for him too, in crazy flavor combinations like strawberry-orange, which he’d named Strorange, at Tony’s request. He’d always liked sitting out here. It brought good memories to mind.

They could take Peter inside now, put him in bed or on the couch and jump in the shower, but…

“Let’s stay out here,” Tony said. He wanted to enjoy the nice weather just a little longer. It was supposed to rain tomorrow, so they wouldn’t be doing much outside.

Steve nodded in agreement. “Take him? I’ll grab some blankets.”

Tony set their beach bags and umbrella down, held out his arms. Steve peeled Peter’s arm from around his neck and carefully passed him over to his mate.

It was a little like lifting a sack of flower. He was practically deadweight. Tony got like that too when he slept, all loose-limbed like a rag doll. It was kind of funny. Apparently he’d passed that trait along, like Steve had passed on his loud sneezes and his hatred of ginger.

“Grab some pillows too,” Tony said, shifting Peter in his arms.

He couldn’t help but inhale softly, take in his son’s familiar scent, soft and calm, mixed with the smell of the beach. He closed his eyes for just a second, relished in the fact that he was safe and happy, that things were good.

Steve nodded, watched the two of them fondly for a moment. He leaned forward and stole a kiss from his mate, and grabbed their things to bring inside.

A few minutes later, Tony and Steve were spread out on opposite sides of a soft blanket, Peter laying between them, a pillow tucked under his head. They’d taken his hat off, and Tony brushed a hand through his honey-brown curls as he lounged on his side, looking around the familiar garden. Steve was sat across from him, a sketchbook and pencil in hand.

He didn’t draw as much as he used to, at least not seriously. Most of his drawings these days were silly little sketches that he let Peter color in, trying to encourage his creativity. He was a fan of really bright colors, his favorite being green, so Steve had a couple page’s worth of green drawings. Now though, he had a little bit of time to actually draw, and found inspiration in the garden.

He found it in his family too.

There were few things he enjoyed sketching more than Tony and Peter. They made a lovely composition now, with the Alpha curled around their child a little, distracted by the book he’d grabbed after getting Peter settled.

He didn’t read physical books often, but the location made him kind of nostalgic, eager to capture those few easy moments of his childhood. He’d had a pretty hard childhood despite his wealth, more bad memories than good, and he never wanted to go back to those days, and the years of confliction and pain and self-hatred and self- _destruction_ that followed, but he still managed to find sweet moments in the past despite it all.

He wanted nothing but sweet moments for his Peter, did his best to keep him safe and happy always.

Steve did the same. He’d learned his lesson, after all he’d put Tony through, all the mistakes he’d made and suffering he’d caused. It was almost three years ago now, but there were still moments when he found guilt swallowing him, where his eyes stung and a lump formed in his throat, where he couldn’t look Tony in the eyes.

But Tony never tormented him about it. He hadn’t from the start, really, beyond what Steve deserved, and that in itself continued to humble him, and probably would the rest of his life.

One day he’d tell Peter about it all, when he was older. He’d tell his son about his greatest shame, the hard choices he’d made and the consequences he’d paid for them. He’d make sure Peter would never make the same mistakes as him, that he knew the importance of family.

For now, he worked on his sketching, tried to capture the delicate, messy curls of Tony’s hair, free-flowing and a little wild, like when he woke up in the morning, before he took the time to manipulate the locks into his signature hairstyle. He’d grabbed a shirt too, because it was a little bit cooler here than on the beach. His white, collared button-down was only done up about halfway, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

It was habit, in the summer months, when it was just the three of them together. Tony didn’t have to feel self-conscious about his scars, any of them, and about how he looked. He’d become more confident about them over the years, especially the biggest one, earned about a year ago, but they still bothered him sometimes when he was out, especially on the rare occasions someone stared or asked him about them.

Steve was glad Tony felt comfortable like that here. He was relaxed, and a little quieter because of it, happier than he’d been in a while. He’d let out more than one growl in the days leading up to their vacation, either into the phone, at a stray toy laying on the floor, and even at Steve at some point, so it was a relief to see him in a good mood, to be surrounded by a smooth and sweet vanilla-whiskey scent, without a sharp edge to it.

Steve wanted to keep it like that.

Either way, the sight of Tony resting in the shade, relaxed and messy, all tanned skin and ease, his dark eyes focused on the book in his hand, managed to be kind of magical. The Alpha was a damn good candid model. Peter laying at his side, his little hands curled into fists and cherubian face calm and illuminated by sun shafts filtering through the leaves, made the picture that much sweeter.

It took about fifteen minutes for Tony to realize that Steve was drawing him. The blond had been staring intensely at his face for a while, trying to capture every detail. He’d drawn Tony so many times, but he was never quite satisfied with the outcome.

“You’re just about burning a hole in me there with your eyes,” Tony said after a while, lowering his book. “You gonna put out the fire you start too?” he joked.

Steve rolled his eyes a little. “Ha ha,” he replied. “Just trying to get your eyes right. It’s so hard.”

He’d said as much a few times before.

Tony smiled, amused. He ear-marked his page, tossed his book to the edge of the blanket, stifled a yawn. “Well take a break. You can fill in your obsessive details later. Come take a nap, Daddy. Who knows how long the kid’ll stay asleep.”

That much was true. Steve brushed a hand through his hair, shook out his bangs, and set his things down. “You could use a nap yourself,” the blond pointed out, watching Tony rub his eyes.

“Oh I plan on getting one. Just want you to join me.”

That made Steve’s heart flutter, like it did every time Tony asked for him. He could never resist the request, crawled across the blanket and settled at his side.

The brunet smiled at him, tilted his head back, silently asking for a kiss. Steve obliged immediately, slung his arm over Tony’s waist and kissed him thoroughly. Tony smiled into it a little, let it go on for a bit, soft and slow and eventually pulled back, let his head fall against the pillow beneath him. Steve settled behind him then, inhaled his warm, delicious scent and let out a soft sigh.

God, he loved Tony.

“Just look at him,” Tony said softly, nodded his head towards Peter.

The little boy had shifted in his sleep, turned on his side to face them. The sight made Tony’s heart squeeze in the best way, like it did every time he saw Peter like that.

God, he couldn’t believe two years had already passed since he came into the world. He still remembered holding him for the first time, just a tiny bundle, hardly able to keep his eyes open. He was so little.

So much had changed since then, and the boy grew every day, learned more, and discovered more. Tony cherished every moment with him, every new milestone, but sometimes thought it was all moving so _fast_.

“Before we know it, he’ll be moving out,” he muttered sourly.

Steve scoffed a little. “We still have time,” he replied, and nuzzled Tony’s bond mark. “Plenty of time.”

Tony didn’t always feel that way. The baby days were hardly over, but he couldn’t help but yearn for them, wanted time to stop moving. He missed that new baby smell. He missed washing tiny socks in the laundry and bottle feeding, missed swaddling Peter, rocking him as he sat in the rocking chair. He yearned for it, really, but besides turning back time, there was only one solution: a solution which was, unfortunately, out of the question.

Tony pursed his lips. “If we could just…have another…”

His words dropped off, and he felt stupid for even thinking it. He felt even more stupid with the way Steve stiffened up behind him momentarily, like he did every time the subject came up. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut.

The blond swallowed hard, wrapped his arm around Tony’s waist and tugged him closer. He’d had the thought himself a few times, but it wasn’t exactly a helpful one. Wishing like that wouldn’t do them any good, after what had happened. It wouldn’t change anything.

“…You know you can’t,” he said softly, even though it pained him to say it. “It’d be too hard. We don’t know if it would even take.”

Tony frowned a little, angry at the reality of it all. It bothered him, a lot, knowing that he couldn’t have any more kids. Not so much as when he’d gotten the news, but still enough to hurt, even now. There was always adoption, but…

He didn’t know how to respond to Steve, so he stayed quiet, reached out and brushed the hair from Peter’s eyes.

“It’s not your fault, Tony,” Steve reminded him softly, pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “And I sure as hell don’t blame you. I never could.”

It was definitely what the brunet needed to hear, but that didn’t mean he believed it. He let out a non-committal hum, not disagreeing, but not entirely agreeing. He knew he shouldn’t blame himself, but he couldn’t help it. He blamed himself for a lot of things. He’d never been good at seeing sense in that aspect.

His lack of response wasn’t good enough for Steve. He leaned forward a little further, and Tony finally turned his head to look into the blond’s eyes. His blue eyes were soft, beautiful, and earnest, and something about them managed to settle Tony a little again, made him relax. His mate’s next words helped more, soothed the aching in his chest.

“Sweetheart, I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have one kid, especially not one as amazing as ours. But you did that. _You_ gave me that gift. If it’s the only gift I ever get, the only one we get to share, that is _more_ than enough for me. I love you both, so much.”

He leaned down, pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead. “So, so much.”

Tony let out a little sigh at that, managed to take the Alpha’s words to heart. He smiled a little, leaned up and nosed at Steve’s bond mark, relished in the quiet wave of contentment that spread through him at his scent, at their connection.

“I love you too,” he replied, and it was true.

It didn’t take long for them both to fall into a nap after that.

The three of them lay there in the shade, entirely at peace, until Peter eventually had enough of napping, was starting to get a little hungry. He let out a yawn and climbed over Tony to pat Steve’s face insistently, whispering (it wasn’t much of a whisper) “Daddy! Daddy!”

The peace was disturbed, but Steve couldn’t imagine a better kind of disturbance.

**Author's Note:**

> As you can imagine, the setting is deliberate. I lowkey love connecting my different series. :)  
> Please leave a comment! Tell me what you thought!
> 
> Also no, I won't be explaining why Tony can't have any more kids in any comments. We'll get to that in a fic eventually. MUAHAHA!


End file.
